HR changed team's fortunes

Friday

May 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - The momentum-shifting scene was a bit comical Saturday in Salinas.

Mark Godi

STOCKTON - The momentum-shifting scene was a bit comical Saturday in Salinas.

Alyssa Magana has been playing softball since she was 5 years old and had never hit a fence-clearing home run until that day. Her game-tying blast against Hartnell saved Delta College from elimination and helped advance it to the California Community College Athletic Association Northern California Super Regionals.

The 12th-seeded Mustangs (25-18) will play top-seeded and host College of San Mateo (38-4) at 2 p.m. today. West Valley, the No. 5 seed, will play No. 4 Chabot in the four-team, double-elimination tournament that goes through Sunday.

"She stumbled over first base and had to come back," Delta coach Jim Fisher said. "Then she had to be told it was a home run when she got to second."

Magana, a 5-foot-3 freshman utility player from Lodi, has been valuable as a leadoff hitter. Her home run came after Delta lost to Hartnell 5-4 in Game 1 and trailed 4-2 in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. Hartnell was one strike away from eliminating the Mustangs when Magana turned on an inside pitch. She got some help from the wind, and the ball landed beyond the left-field fence to tie the game. Two hits later, Delta won the game and eventually took the series with a 7-4 victory in Game 3.

"All I had been doing before (the home run) was hitting little dinkers or striking out," Manga said. "I was thinking up there, 'I have to hit this somewhere - hard.' "

The homer was fitting in a season Fisher calls "surreal." Delta lost returning shortstop Jessyca Rico (elbow) and second baseman Katie Etcheverry (lupus) for the season just before it opened. Starting catcher Shaina Kharufeh (foot) was lost for the year in February, then last weekend, catcher Monique Tong and outfielder Bonnie Brooksher went down with foot injuries.

"I have never had to go this far into my bench to compete," Fisher said. "Hand it to the girls for responding when we call upon them."

The Bulldogs' only nonconference loss was against Delta, 3-2 on Feb. 12. San Mateo beat four other Big 8 opponents, including conference champions Sierra.